Bone Shop: A Marla Mason Novel

Marla Mason is the chief sorcerer of Felport, a woman who's tangled with gods and monsters and come out on top (if a bit damaged in the process). Bone Shop tells the story of Marla's evolution from runaway to sorcerer's apprentice to mercenary magician and beyond. Fans of the urban fantasy series from Bantam Spectra that began with Blood Engines will find surprising secrets revealed about Marla's past, and new listeners can get to know the character from the very beginning.

Top-Shelf Marla (and Pratt)!

I'd read some of the other Marla Mason books, but this is the first one I'd listened to. I might just have download the rest of them because I couldn'..Show More »t stop listening to this. Pratt's characters are simultaneously wicked and delightful. I lost count of how many times I laughed out listening to this. This is in no small part due to Jessica Almasy's fantastic reading. She sounds exactly like the wicked witch you're sharing a beer with should.

The storyline is definitely more of a serial than the other Mason novels I'd read, with the main plotline being Marla's introduction to magic, and her rise to power among the witches and wizards of Felport. The serialized style only adds to the overall charm of the story and characters. Marla makes you laugh, breaks your heart, punches some monsters, and then does it all over again.

In short, it's seven hours of pure entertainment. I loved every minute of it, and am looking forward to hanging out with Marla for another round.

Blood Engines: A Marla Mason Novel

Sorcerer Marla Mason, small-time guardian of the city of Felport, has a big problem. A rival is preparing a powerful spell that could end Marla's life - and, even worse, wreck her city. Marla's only chance of survival is to boost her powers with the Cornerstone, a magical artifact hidden somewhere in San Francisco. But when she arrives there, Marla finds that the quest isn't going to be quite as cut-and-dried as she expected...

The Title Explains It All

I usually do not write reviews, but I just thought I'd give it a shot this time. The book is a great read/listen. I listened at work and found it ente..Show More »rtaining, made the day flow by quicker. Some audio books can take a while for me to understand where the story is going, this one I picked up what was happening right away. The reason for writing this review is that enjoyed the book and wanted to see which is the next in the series. It took a little investigating because they are not numbered, so I went to T.A. Pratt's site. The order goes as follows.

In Blood Engines
In Poison Sleep
In Dead Reign
In Spell Games

I hope that helps some people who enjoyed the first book and would like to follow the series, and not make the mistake of downloading the books not in series sequence.

Poison Sleep: A Marla Mason Novel

Someone wants Marla Mason dead. Usually that's not news. As chief sorcerer of Felport, someone always wants her dead. But this time she's the target of a renegade assassin who specializes in killing his victims over days, months, or even years. Not to mention a mysterious knife-wielding killer in black who pops up in the most unexpected places.

This Series is AMAZING!

T.A. Pratt has a wonderful imagination, Ive just finished the fourth book of this series and I must say, its been one heck of a ride. Great stories, t..Show More »he evolution of the characters was fascinating to watch. The magical world hes created is rich in detail and so interesting! After this book, read Death Reign then Spell Games. This series is the best urban fantasy Ive read, by far.

Dead Reign: A Marla Mason Novel

As chief sorcerer of Felport, Marla Mason thought she'd faced every kind of evil the magical world had to offer. But she's never faced a killer like this. He's dark, glib, handsome as the devil - and exactly who he says he is. Death - in the flesh. He's arrived in Felport with a posse composed of a half-insane necromancer and the reanimated corpse of John Wilkes Booth, and he isn't leaving until he gets what he came for. Only Marla is crazy enough to tell Death to go back to Hell.

Buffy redux?

I almost put this one back on the shelf after the first hour, but gradually it became more entertaining, and I stuck with it. The world of the series..Show More » and the vocal style of the narrator were both reminiscent of Buffy, and while I am not a big fan, I assume that will be an attraction for many listeners. For me the best aspect of this book was the creation of some appealing and delightful characters. Unfortunately, for most of the book, their choices are predictable and uninspired, and the "deeper" aspects of moral conflict are disappointingly obvious. Still, by the end I was enjoying them and did not regret sticking with the book.
WARNING. If you have not read the earlier titles in this series do NOT start with this book. It is full of spoilers about important plot turns from earlier episodes.

Spell Games: A Marla Mason Novel

Mad sorcerers, psychic vampires, an army of vengeful demons, Marla Mason would rather face them all than a flesh-and-blood ghost from her dysfunctional family past: her con artist brother, Jason. As Felport's chief sorcerer, Marla would ordinarily consider it her duty to protect her town from such an unscrupulous ne'er-do-well. As his sister, things are a lot...trickier.

Quite a ride

After the first book in this series, I came back to audible and bought all the rest in one go. I have loved every book. The characters are amazingly..Show More » well drawn and fun. You care about the plot, you care about the people, you even care about the weird magico-political system for gosh-sakes. I understand the reviewers who felt like this book left them hanging off a ledge. The cliff hangers at the end of this book are painful, I do feel left hanging, in part because the fate of characters I do care about is still in the balance. Do I feel like the story is incomplete? No. This was a natural break in the action, a natural completion of this set of events. Does it feel like the story could end here? Heck no. But the overarching story doesn't end, it is a series. I am willing to forgive Mr. Pratt for his cliffhanger, so long as he doesn't procrastinate writing the next one. Are you reading this, Mr. Pratt? Back to your typewriter!

A good series is like the perfect comfort food. You know more or less what you're going to get if you've been here before, and you take pleasure in th..Show More »at familiarity. The Marla Mason books are my comfort food. I love the wicked sense of humor and no-nonsense Marla provides, and I love the way Jessica Almasy reads her. I could be up for a dozen more adventures of this character.

Broken Mirrors finds Marla Mason at odds with her few friends and confidants as she attempts to do the impossible - resurrect her slain apprentice, Bradley Bowman. Resurrection turns out to be impossible, so Marla opts for the next best thing: removing a different Bradley Bowman from an alternate universe. Unfortunately for her, this has a couple of unexpected consequences: 1) The B-Bowman isn't so keen on being taken from the universe he was in, and 2) Marla's own alternate - the Mason, and her murderous associate Crapsy (alt. Rondeau) are also pulled into Marla's universe.

While our Marla and Rondeau take the B-Bowman back to his own universe, and agree to aide him in fighting a revolution, the Mason and Crapsy go on a killing spree that leads them all the way to an unprotected Fellport. In the Mason, Marla finds her most dangerous foe - a darker, more vicious version of herself. And I think it's probably the best villain of the series.

It really feels like Pratt was pulling out all the stops with this one. This was the first of the Marla books that he self-published, and I suspect he realized that it might very well have been the last (thankfully, it isn't). We see characters that we've gotten to know over the past four novels (and short stories) fall, which was more of a punch to the gut than I expected. On the other hand, traveling to the alternate universe and seeing a lot of characters that have appeared in and/or died in the previous books was a sheer joy. It's the Marla Mason equivalent of Days of Future Past or Age of Apocalypse (which Pratt said he read for "research." Yes, we all feel so much woe for how hard it must be on him to write these books.)

All in all, Broken Mirrors is as much fun as it could possibly be, and a must for fans of this series.

Grim Tides: A Marla Mason Novel

Marla Mason, ousted chief sorcerer for the city of Felport, is languishing in exile on the island of Maui with her best friend, the psychic (and rather hedonistic) Rondeau. She's making a living of sorts as an occult detective, but for the most part, she's just marking time. Driven from the city she loves, Marla is adrift, nearly friendless, and stripped of almost all her power and resources. Obviously, it's the perfect time for old enemies to try and kill her.

A solid entry into the Marlaverse

I've liked the Marla series from the beginning largely because of the narration. This is a place where audio can transform material into something sp..Show More »ecial. Like the Dreden series, I would have to think a few times before buying a Marla story without the superb work of Ms. Almasy to give it height and depth.

Grim Tides is a solid entry from the story point of view. The only quibble I have is that it needed some editing to blend the various parts together better. Instead of coming across as a seamless whole, it is a bit... chunky is the word that springs to mind. I think an editor could have smoothed it out.

The story itself is good. Takes Marla out of here home turf, something we haven't seen since the first book in the series. It pushes the boundaries of the Marlaverse out a bit and I'm excited to see what comes next.

Bride of Death: A Marla Mason Novel

Marla Mason has been a mercenary, a chief sorcerer, a protector of an entire city, and an occult detective, and now she's a goddess of death...but only part time. She gets to spend six months a year living as a mortal woman on Earth, and she's decided to devote those months to hunting monsters for fun and personal redemption. Armed with ax and dagger, with the living severed head of her worst enemy in a birdcage for a traveling companion, she sets off by motorcycle into the American Southwest on a journey of self-discovery and other destruction.

Marla's Back!!!!

I missed the Marla stories for a while. No one. has ever made a character like this one. Thanks T.A. I enjoyed it and recommend it for all the Marla ..Show More »fans out there.

Lady of Misrule: A Marla Mason Novel

No rest for the wicked... or anyone else! Welcome to the world of Marla Mason, part-time goddess of death and former chief sorcerer of the Felport. It is a world full of snark, violence, weirdness, bad choices with surprising consequences, friendship, betrayal, villainous living severed heads, magic motorcycles, axes made of fragments of moonlight, monsters from beyond the multiverse, and other delights.

Absolutely Amazing

I have been following this book series ever since I was in 7th grade, and I am now a sophomore in college. TA Pratt never fails to disappoint - this b..Show More »ook was excellent in every way. I was always finding an excuse to continue listening. Marla is always learning and she never fails to surprise the reader with her powers of stubbornness.

Closing Doors: Marla Mason, Book 10

After a checkered career as a magical mercenary, ruler of a city, occult detective, freelance monster-hunter, and part-time demigod, Marla Mason has ascended fully to godhood, and now rules the underworld alone. Before she can retire to an eternity overseeing the afterlife, though, she has a couple of loose ends to tie up. An old associate has called in a favor and wants Marla's help to defeat an alien infestation that could transform the world into an inhospitable wasteland.

...Beautiful

I have been a long time follower of this series and how this series ended can be described in one word. Beautiful.